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Friday, January 31, 2014

A Different Blue

Blue Echohawk doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know her real name or when she was born. Abandoned at two and raised by a drifter, she didn't attend school until she was ten years old. At nineteen, when most kids her age are attending college or moving on with life, she is just a senior in high school. With no mother, no father, no faith, and no future, Blue Echohawk is a difficult student, to say the least. Tough, hard and overtly sexy, she is the complete opposite of the young British teacher who decides he is up for the challenge, and takes the troublemaker under his wing. This is the story of a nobody who becomes somebody. It is the story of an unlikely friendship, where hope fosters healing and redemption becomes love. But falling in love can be hard when you don't know who you are. Falling in love with someone who knows exactly who they are and exactly why they can't love you back might be impossible.

Omgawd, omgawd, omgawd! Can we all just stand up, jump around, and scream at how freaking amazing this book is? I finished this book a while book and it just blew my mind that I knew I had to post the review on a significant day. What better way to conclude the first month of 2014 than with this review? Perfect. So without further ado, let's go!I. Love. Blue. I don't think I can make it any clearer than I already have. She is an amazingly crafted character and I just can't explain how much I love her. She's super tough and badass but beneath that rough exterior is a girl who's lost, broken, and looking for love. When she first walked into Wilson's class I was so excited for everything. I knew from the summary that he was the teacher who took her under his wing, but I didn't expect for him to be so hot. Like not only in looks but his personality is just too perfect. Wilson. Guys can't get any more perfect than this. He's almost too perfect. A new teacher fresh out of college, smart enough to graduate high school at age 15 is hit with a problem. Dealing with a rebellious girl named Blue. I can't believe just how patient he is with her! Check below for the quotes and look at the second one, then the third, then the fifth. He urges her to look deep within herself because everyone has a story to tell. He takes all the broken pieces of her and pieced them back together, even if the pieces cut and hurt him.

Okay, pause for a second. I'm not saying that I support teacher student relationships. I'm kinda freaked out by them to be honest. But my defense for this book is that a) Blue graduated before they fell in love and b) They are only 1 year apart. Those two facts contain some spoilers but not a lot. Yes, they do fall in love which has got to be the cutest thing ever! Throughout the entire book, Blue feels a connection toward Wilson. He's always there, always supporting, but every time she wants it to become more, he moves away. This man has some integrity. Even though Blue isn't his student anymore, he still feels that a relationship wouldn't be the best for her. Screw what he wants (whispers: HER), only the best for her. I was seriously in need of oxygen every time Wilson was around Blue. The chemistry they had was like radiating out of my Nook and into the air around me. Blue pulling the recliner underneath the vent so she could hear him play, his history lessons influencing her, e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g!!

I can't look at history the same way after reading this. Wilson has this passion for literature, passion for stories that it's hard to think history was ever boring after. He paints vivid images of historical battles, brave heroes and heroines, and makes the boring textbook history seem alive. His interpretation of Emily Dickinson's poem: I'm A Nobody was amazing, just amazing (quote 3). I can't, I just can't.

The ending couldn't be more perfect. Blue finds out about her heritage, she finds who she is. She is Blue Echohawk, she is a somebody.

The whole lesson, moral, concept of the story was truly beautiful. I loved the story, I loved the characters and I am so stocking up more Amy Harmon books soon! Super duper highly recommend it! You won't regret it!

(I split the page because it was getting long, but quotes AND and excerpt are below so click and keep reading!)

Mess with me, and I would carry you off to the underworld and punish and torment you for infinity.

There is no sense in running from the past. We can't throw it away or pretend it didn't happen, Miss Echohawk. But maybe we can learn something from it. You have an interesting story, and I'd like you to tell me more.

The beauty of that poem is that everybody can relate, because we all feel like nobody. We all feel like we are on the outside, looking in. We all feel scattered. But I think it's that self-awareness that actually makes us somebody. And you are definitely somebody Blue. You may not be a work of art, but you are definitely a piece of work.

There is no such thing as perfect, and honestly, if the wood were perfect it wouldn't be as beautiful. I seem to recall someone telling me that 'perfect was boring' anyway.

I keep wishing you had had a better life...a different life. But a different life would have made you a different Blue. And that would be the biggest tragedy of all.

Loving someone means putting their needs above your own. No matter what. Somehow, you figured that out. I'll be damned if I know how, but you did.

Someone once told me that to create true art you must be willing to bleed and let others watch.

You can't control who loves you...you can't let someone love you anymore than you have make someone love you.

Once upon a time there was a little blackbird who was pushed from the nest, unwanted. Discarded. Then a Hawk found her and swooped her up and carried her away, giving her a home in his nest, teaching her to fly. But one day the Hawk didn't come home, and the bird was alone again, unwanted. She wanted to fly away.

But as she rose to the edge of the nest and looked out across the sky, she noticed how small her wings were, how weak. The sky was so big. Somewhere else was so far away. She felt trapped. She could fly away, but where would she go?

She was afraid because she knew she wasn't a hawk. And she wasn't a swan, a beautiful bird. She wasn't an eagle, worthy of awe. She was just a little blackbird.

She cowered in her nest hiding her head beneath her wings, wishing for rescue. But none came. The little blackbird knew she might be weak, and she might be small, but she had no choice. She had to try. She would fly away and never look back. With a deep breath, she spread her wings and pushed herself off into the wide blue sky. For a minute she flew, steady and soaring, but then she looked down. The ground below rose rapidly to meet her as she panicked and cartwheeled toward the earth.

5 out of 5 stars

Sorry for the SUPER LONG POST. >.< But I couldn't help myself. Also, I found a review with Amy Harmon with an epilogue AND excerpt in Wilson's POV so be sure to check them out: